Packing box

ABSTRACT

A packing box for an electronic product to protect an electronic product from external impact. The packing box includes a first packing unit to pack an upper part of the product, a second packing unit passing through the first packing unit and joined to a lower part of the first packing unit, to pack a middle part of the product, and a third packing unit passing through the first and second packing units and joined to a lower part of the second packing unit, to pack a lower part of the product. The packing box is readily disassembled and allows the product to be easily repacked.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2008-0114839, filed on Nov. 18, 2008 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a packing box, and, more particularly,to a packing box for an electronic product to protect the electronicproduct from external impact where the packing box is readilydisassembled and allows the product to be easily repacked.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a packing box for an electronic product functions to protectelectronic products housed therein and contributes to convenienttransfer and stacking. That is, a variety of distribution processes arerequired to transfer electronic products from a production line offactories to consumers. Packing boxes are generally used to prevent thebreakage or damage of electronic products caused by external factorssuch as external impact in the distribution process and to contribute toconvenient transfer and stacking.

Such a packing box for an electronic product generally takes arectangular shape and enables packing by inserting an electronic productinto the packing box and then joining bonding members, arranged at bothsides of the top and the bottom, or at both sides of left and rightsides of the packing box. However, such a bonding member is firmlyattached in order to maintain safe packing, thus disadvantageouslymaking the packing box difficult to disassemble.

Furthermore, such a general packing box is utilized in large electronicproducts such as air conditioners and refrigerators. However, unpackingthese large electronic products indoors is quite inconvenient, thusinevitably requiring unpacking outdoors and then transfer indoors. Inthe transfer process, the electronic product may be damaged.

In addition, since conventional packing boxes for electronic productsrequire the use of means such as knives or scissors in order to removethe electronic product from the packing box, the product includedtherein may be damaged. Furthermore, upon return of electronic products,the cut packing boxes are difficult to recycle.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a packingbox for an electronic product that protects an electronic product fromexternal impact wherein the packing box can readily be disassembled andallows the product to be easily repacked.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparentfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a packing box for an electronic product, in which an electronicproduct is housed and packed, the packing box including one or moreunits.

The packing box may include a first packing unit to pack one part of theelectronic product and a second packing unit passing through the firstpacking unit, to pack another part of the electronic product.

The first packing unit may include at least one holding member adjacentto the second packing unit and the second packing unit may include atleast one fixing member, on which the holding member is fixed.

The second packing unit may only partially overlap the first packingunit.

The second packing unit may have a width greater than the width of thefirst packing unit, in order to allow the first packing unit to passthrough the second packing unit in a vertical direction.

The holding member may include a slot formed by partially cutting thefirst packing unit, and the fixing member may include an engagement jawto be engaged in the slot, wherein the engagement jaw is formed bypartially cutting the second packing unit.

The first and second packing units may include four side surfaces tocover the electronic product in four directions, and the side surfacesmay include two narrow surfaces and two wide surfaces.

The packing box may be separated from the product, based on a principlethat, when the second packing unit is lifted up, the engagement jaw isdisengaged from the slot and the first packing unit thus overlaps thesecond packing unit.

The packing box further may include a third packing unit passing throughthe first and second packing units, to pack the other part of theelectronic product.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a packing box for an electronic product, including: a firstpacking unit to pack an upper part of a product; a second packing unitpassing through the first packing unit and joined to a lower part of thefirst packing unit, to pack a middle part of the product; and a thirdpacking unit passing through the first and second packing units andjoined to a lower part of the second packing unit, to pack a lower partof the product.

The product may have a greater length than width.

The one of the first and second packing units may include a firstholding member and the other of them may include a first fixing member,on which the holding member is fixed, to join the first packing unit tothe second packing unit.

The one of the second and third packing units may include a secondholding member and the other of them may include a second fixing member,on which the second holding member is fixed, to join the second packingunit to the third packing unit.

The first and second holding members may include a slot formed bypartially cutting the packing box, and the first and second fixingmembers may include an engagement jaw engaged in the slot, wherein thefirst and second fixing members are formed by partially cutting thepacking box.

When the third packing unit is lifted up, the engagement jaw isdisengaged from the slot, and at the same time, the second packing unitand the first packing unit are sequentially lifted up.

The packing box may be disassembled from bottom to top of the electronicproduct.

The product may be a large electronic product including an airconditioner or a refrigerator.

The first packing unit, the second packing unit and the third packingunit may have identical lengths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofthe embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the condition wherein an electronicproduct according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views illustrating a first packing unit according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are views illustrating a second packing unit accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views illustrating a third packing unit according toone embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B are views illustrating a process fordisassembling the packing box for an electronic product according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the presentinvention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the condition where a packing box for anelectronic product according to one embodiment of the present inventionis applied, and FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B are views illustratingthe condition wherein the packing box for an electronic productaccording to one embodiment of the present invention is unfold orassembled.

As shown in FIG. 1, a packing box for an electronic product 10 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention functions to pack anelectronic product 1 such as an air conditioner for transfer andstorage, which is divided into one or more units along a packingdirection.

That is, the packing box for an electronic product 10 includes: a firstpacking unit 100 to pack one part of an electronic product 1 having agreater length than width; a second packing unit 200 to pack anotherpart of the electronic product 1, where the second packing unit 200passes through the first packing unit 100 and is connected thereto, anda third packing unit 300 to pack the other part of the electronicproduct 1, where the third packing unit 300 passes through the first andsecond packing units 100 and 200 and is connected to the second packingunit 200.

Although a case where the packing box for an electronic product isapplied to an air conditioner is illustrated in the drawings, thepacking box may be applied not only to the air conditioner, but also toother large electronic products such as refrigerators having a greaterlength than width. In addition, the packing box for an electronicproduct according to one embodiment of the present invention is dividedinto one or more units and may thus include at least two packing boxespartitioned along a packing direction of the electronic product.

FIG. 2A is an unfolded view illustrating the first packing unit and FIG.2B is an assembled view illustrating the first packing unit.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the first packing unit 100 according to oneembodiment of the present invention is a constituent component to packone part of the electronic product having a length greater than a width.Specifically, the first packing unit 100 is a packing box to pack anupper part of the electronic product having a greater length than width.

The first packing unit 100 includes a side surface 110 wherein arectangular sheet plate is divided into four identical parts. The sidesurface 110 may include two wide surfaces 111 which occupy a large areain the first packing unit 100 and two narrow surfaces 112 which occupy asmall area therein.

The wide surface 111 and the narrow surface 112 are partitioned fromeach other, based on a first folding portion 110 a.

The first packing unit 100 includes an upper surface 120 contacting theside surface 110. The upper surface 120 is partitioned from the sidesurface 110, based on a second folding portion 120 a. A holding member130 is arranged on the outermost side from the wide surface 111.

Accordingly, the first folding portion 110 a is folded to form one sideof the first packing unit 100 with two wide surfaces 111 and two narrowsurfaces 112, and the second folding portion 120 a is folded to form anupper part of the first packing unit 100 with four upper surfaces 120.In addition, the holding member 130 is bonded with an adhesive to thenarrow surface 112 arranged at the opposite side thereof or is attachedto the same with a stapler, to provide a rectangular first packing unit100.

The first packing unit side surface 110 is provided with at least oneholding member 130, through which the first packing unit 100 is joinedto the second packing unit 200. The second packing unit holding member130 is a constituent component where the second packing unit 200partially overlaps the first packing unit 100 in a packing direction ofthe electronic product. Accordingly, the first packing unit holdingmember 130 may take the form of a slot provided by partially cutting anarea of the narrow surface 112 adjacent to the second packing unit 200.That is, the first packing unit holding member 130 may be in the form ofa rectangular slot provided by press-forming an area adjacent to a loweredge of the narrow surface. The reason for formation of the firstpacking unit holding member 130 on the narrow surface 112 is to causethe wide surface 111 to face the front surface of the electronic productand thus to easily join/disjoin the first packing box 100 to theelectronic product.

FIG. 3A is an unfolded view of the second packing unit and FIG. 3B is anassembled view of the second packing unit.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the second packing unit 200 according toone embodiment of the present invention is a constituent component topack another part of the electronic product having a greater length thanwidth. More specifically, the second packing unit 200 is a packing boxwhich passes through the first packing unit 100 and packs the middle ofthe electronic product.

Similar to the first packing unit 100, the second packing unit 200includes a side surface 210 wherein a rectangular sheet plate is dividedinto four identical parts. The side surface 210 may include two widesurfaces 211 which occupy a large area and two narrow surfaces 212 whichoccupy a small area, based on a first folding portion 210 a. Inaddition, the wide surface 211 is provided with a holding member 240 atone end thereof. The first folding portion 211 is folded to form theside surface of the second packing unit 200 with two wide surfaces 211and two narrow surfaces 212, and the holding member 240 is adhered tothe opposite narrow surface 212 to provide a rectangular second packingunit 200.

In addition, the second packing unit side surface 210 is provided withat least one fixing member 220 on which the first packing unit holdingmember 130 is fixed. The second packing unit fixing member 220 may be inthe form of an engagement jaw, which is formed by partially cutting thesecond packing unit 200 and is engaged in the first packing unit holdingmember 230. That is, the second packing unit fixing member 220 mayprotrude from the second packing unit side surface 210 by cuttingdownward an area corresponding to the first packing unit holding member130 using processing such as press-forming.

In addition, the second packing unit side surface 210 is provided withat least one holding member 230 through which the second packing unit100 is joined to a third packing unit 300. The second packing unitholding member 230 is a constituent component where the second packingunit 200 partially overlaps the first packing unit 100 in a packingdirection of the electronic product. That is, the second packing unitholding member 230 may take the form of a rectangular slot provided bycutting a portion of the narrow surface 112 such that the holding member230 is adjacent to the second packing unit 300. Accordingly, while thesecond packing unit 200 passes through the first packing unit 100 inorder to pack the electronic product, the second packing unit engagementjaw 220, which is cut and protrudes downward, is engaged in the firstpacking unit slot 130, thereby allowing the second packing unit 200 toeasily join to the first packing unit 100.

FIG. 4A is an unfolded view of a third packing unit and FIG. 4B is anassembled view of a third packing unit.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the third packing unit 300 according to oneembodiment of the present invention is a constituent component to packthe other part of the electronic product having a greater length thanwidth. More specifically, the third packing unit 300 passes through thefirst and second packing units 100 and 200 and packs a lower part of theelectronic product.

Like the first and second packing unit 200, the third packing unit 300includes a side surface 310 wherein a rectangular sheet plate is dividedinto four identical parts. The side surface 310 includes two widesurfaces 311 which occupy a large area and two narrow surfaces 312 whichoccupy a small area. The wide surface 311 and the narrow surface 312 arepartitioned from each other, based on a first folding portion 310 a, anda holding member 330 is arranged at one end of the wide surface 311, theoutermost side from the center of the wide surface 311. The firstfolding portion 310 a is folded to form one side of the third packingunit 300 with two wide surfaces 311 and two narrow surfaces 312, and theholding member 330 is bonded to the narrow surface 112 arranged atopposite sides thereof, to provide the third packing unit 300.

In addition, the third packing unit side surface 310 is provided with atleast one fixing member 320 on which the second packing unit holdingmember 230 is fixed. The third packing unit fixing member 320 may takethe form of an engagement jaw, which is provided by cutting a portion ofthe third packing unit 300 and is engaged in the second packing unitholding member 230. That is, the third packing unit fixing member 320may be formed such that it is cut and protrudes downward bypress-forming an area corresponding to the second packing unit holdingmember 230.

Accordingly, while the third packing unit 300 passes through the secondpacking unit 200 in order to pack the electronic product, the thirdpacking unit engagement jaw 320, which is cut and protrudes downward, isengaged in the second packing unit slot 230, thereby allowing the thirdpacking unit 300 to easily join to the second packing unit 200.

Hereinafter, an operation of the packing box for an electronic productaccording to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B illustrate a process for disassemblingthe packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

First, a size of the packing box according to one embodiment of thepresent invention will be explained below.

As shown in FIG. 5A, a width of the second packing unit W2 is greaterthan a width of the first packing unit W1 so that the second packingunit 200 can pass through the first packing unit 100. As shown in FIG.5A, compared to the first packing unit width W1, the second packing unitwidth W2 has a space with a size of about half a thickness T so that thesecond packing unit 200 can pass through the first packing unit 100 andbe fixed on the first packing unit 100 at the fixing member 220.

A width of the third packing unit W3 is greater than the second packingunit width (also referred to as a horizontal length) W2 so that thethird packing unit 300 can pass through the second packing unit 200.Like the second packing unit width W2, the third packing unit width W3has a space with a size of about half a thickness T, compared to thesecond packing unit width W2, so that the third packing unit 300 canpass through the first and second packing units 100 and 200 and be fixedon the second packing unit 200 at the fixing member 320.

A length of the second packing unit L2 is substantially equivalent to alength of the first packing unit L1, and a length of the third packingunit L3 is substantially equivalent to the first and second packing unitlengths L1 and L2. This length specification aims to allow users toeasily disassemble the packing box 10 and cause the packing box 10 tooverlap another box in a predetermined portion.

Hereinafter, a process for disassembling and repacking the packing boxaccording to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the third packing unit 300 islifted up in an A direction, the third packing unit fixing member 320 isdisengaged from the second packing unit holding member 230, and thethird packing unit 300 slides in an A direction along the outside of thesecond packing unit 200, while the third packing unit 300 is separatedfrom the second packing unit 200.

That is, when a user lifts up the third packing unit 300, the thirdpacking unit engagement jaw 320 is disengaged from the second packingunit slot 230 and the second packing unit 200 can thus be readilyseparated from the third packing unit 300.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the third packing unit 300 isfurther lifted in an A direction, the second packing unit engagement jaw220 is disengaged from the first packing unit slot 130, the firstpacking unit 100 is separated from the second packing unit 200 and thesecond packing unit 200 thus slides along the outside of the firstpacking unit 100.

Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the first packing unit 100,the second packing unit 200 and the third packing unit 300 overlap oneanother, thus reducing an overall length of the packing box 10 andenabling the packing box 10 to be readily separated from the largeelectronic product. That is, the packing box 10 according to oneembodiment is divided into one or more units along a packing directionof the electronic product, and the units are joined to one anotherthrough the slots 130 and 230 and the engagement jaws 220 and 320provided in the packing box 10, thus eliminating the necessity of anadditional device to separate the packing box 10 and further readilydisassembling the packing box 10, as compared to conventional cases.

In addition, the packing box for an electronic product 10 is separatedfrom the electronic product without using any device, thus causing nodamage to the surface of the packing box 10. Accordingly, the packingbox 10 separated from returned electronic products is recycled to repackthe electronic product in a reverse order of the disassembly orderthereof, thus advantageously significantly reducing a repacking cost ofthe electronic product.

As apparent from the foregoing, the packing box for an electronicproduct according to one embodiment of the present invention includesone or more units to pack an electronic product having a length greaterthan a width, thus advantageously making it easy to disassemble andreadily repacking returned electronic products.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A packing box for an electronic product, in which an electronicproduct is housed and packed, the packing box comprising: a firstpacking unit to pack one part of the electronic product; and a secondpacking unit passing through the first packing unit, to pack anotherpart of the electronic product.
 2. The packing box according to claim 1,wherein the first packing unit comprises at least one holding memberadjacent to the second packing unit, and the second packing unitcomprises at least one fixing member on which the holding member isfixed.
 3. The packing box according to claim 1, wherein the secondpacking unit only partially overlaps the first packing unit.
 4. Thepacking box according to claim 3, wherein the second packing unit has awidth greater than the width of the first packing unit, in order toallow the first packing unit to pass through the second packing unit ina vertical direction.
 5. The packing box according to claim 2, whereinthe holding member comprises a slot formed by partially cutting thefirst packing unit, and the fixing member comprises an engagement jaw tobe engaged in the slot, the engagement jaw formed by partially cuttingthe second packing unit.
 6. The packing box according to claim 1,wherein the first and second packing units comprise four side surfacesto cover the electronic product in four directions, and the sidesurfaces comprise two narrow surfaces and two wide surfaces.
 7. Thepacking box according to claim 5, wherein the first packing unitoverlaps the second packing unit so that the packing box is separatedfrom the product when the second packing unit is lifted up and theengagement jaw is separated from the slot.
 8. The packing box accordingto claim 3, wherein the packing box further comprises a third packingunit passing through the first and second packing units and packing theother part of the electronic product.
 9. A packing box for an electronicproduct, comprising: a first packing unit to pack an upper part of theproduct; a second packing unit passing through the first packing unitand joined to a lower part of the first packing unit, to pack a middlepart of the product; and a third packing unit passing through the firstand second packing units and joined to a lower part of the secondpacking unit, to pack a lower part of the product.
 10. The packing boxaccording to claim 9, wherein the product has a greater length thanwidth.
 11. The packing box according to claim 9, wherein one of thefirst and second packing units comprises a first holding member, and theother packing unit comprises a first fixing member, on which the holdingmember is fixed, to join the first packing unit to the second packingunit.
 12. The packing box according to claim 11, wherein one of thesecond and third packing units comprises a second holding member, andthe other packing unit comprises a second fixing member, on which thesecond holding member is fixed, to join the second packing unit to thethird packing unit.
 13. The packing box according to claim 12, whereinthe first and second holding members comprise a slot formed by partiallycutting the packing box, and the first and second fixing memberscomprise an engagement jaw engaged in the slot, the first and secondfixing members formed by partially cutting the packing box.
 14. Thepacking box according to claim 13, wherein, when the third packing unitis lifted up, the second packing unit and the first packing unit aresequentially lifted up, as the engagement jaw is disengaged from theslot.
 15. The packing box according to claim 9, wherein the packing boxis disassembled from bottom to top of the product.
 16. The packing boxaccording to claim 10, wherein the product is a large electronic productincluding an air conditioner or a refrigerator.
 17. The packing boxaccording to claim 16, wherein the first packing unit, the secondpacking unit and the third packing unit have equal lengths.